I found it interesting, especially since I did not grow up in the kind of environment that he did. Glamour and style usually go together, but anyone with taste and money can buy a snappy wardrobe, so what makes a person, an object, or a place seem glamorous? He lived on a houseboat on the Seine and was having a marvelous time.One day as I was in a state of undress with a young woman when I heard the banging on the boats hatch. CHURCH Read More, DUCHIN, Meyer M. Of Monroe Township. Mr. Duchin cut his engagement schedule by half when he turned 70 two years ago, so that he now plays around 60 gigs a year, but he's still a visible presence on the fall and holiday benefit. To receive obit/directions text 1842754 to 414-301-6422. His pianist father, Eddy Duchin, died when Peter was 12, and his mother, socialite Marjorie Oelrichs, died when he was only 6 days old. He has served on the boards of American Ballet Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Spoleto Festival USA, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the board of Trustees for the Glimmerglass Opera of Cooperstown, New York, the Advisory Council for the American Russian Youth Orchestra, the National Jazz Service Organization, the World Policy Institute, and the Citizens Committee For New York City. He served in the Navy in WWII and graduated from Emerson College, Boston in 1951. From the time I began at the Maisonette, newspapers and magazines persistently described me as the glamorous Peter Duchin, as if the adjective was part of my name. At first, this book presented an interesting story with an accomplished list of names. Duchin is a legend twice over, doing the unimaginable, not only recovering from a 2013 stroke but from an astounding 47 days on a ventilator with COVID beginning in March of 2020. Eddy, devastated, couldnt handle being physically or emotionally close to his infant son. Maybe the finest autobiography that have read. His piano dexterity is mighty., Mark Adamo, the opera composer and a friend of Mr. Duchin, said: He not only grew up with this music, he may well be in some of those lyrics. Duchin is an honorary member and former Vice-Chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts. "I was supposed to die. Peter Duchin, whose new memoir is out now, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in New York City in 1971. In 2008 Hayward and Duchin announced their separation, and they eventually divorced. Colin Duchin has posted every other day, and it looks like prayers and medicine and patience have paid off. Duchin was born in New York City, the son of pianist and band leader Eddy Duchin. In the final section, Duchin reveals how his career and public celebrity were made possible by his brilliant social connections. When I came along, there were a dozen clubs in town to play, places like El Morocco and the Maisonette in the St. Regis, where people would go to dance, Mr. Duchin said. Give me a party where people are having a ball. Brother of Edward (Freddye) Duchin Read More, 10 a.m. at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Belleville. He was 96 years old. You rarely hear Peter refer to himself, unless you ask, and hes loyal to the bone to those he loves. "[8], Oelrichs died on August 3, 1937 in the Harbor Sanitarium at 667 Madison Avenue,[9] just six days after the 1937 birth of the couple's son, Peter Oelrichs Duchin (born July 28, 1937). Harvey completed high school at West Orange High School, West Orange, N.J. He was born in New York City to the late Minnie and Jacob Duchin. If anyone is interested in family dynamics, music (Mr. Duchin is a society bandleader), following the story of his father Eddy Duchin, or life in America chiefly in New York for the period 1950-going forward. Survivors include Read More, Duchin, George Born March 26, 1924 in Boston, died in Los Angeles in hospital March 1, 2006. Paul Duchin, 76 of Livingston, NJ passed away on January 28th after a short illness. ", The book was co-written by Charles Michener, the music critic and New Yorker senior editor, to help Duchin "find out about the past I knew nothing about. Four years later, the famous bandleader died of leukemia at age 42. I want to be exciting enough to get them to do that, but not intrusive., The singer and pianist Michael Feinstein, a friend who has put in his share of nights playing parties, said, The music Peter plays is music to entertain and make people feel wonderful at parties and events that would and will suffer tremendously without it.. Read More, Duchin, Alex Romulus, MI Mr. Duchin, 81, passed Friday, September 9, 2005 at his home. It was split into several categories Big Band, Dad, Sinatra and, at the end, a handful of sets/songs to be added when we talk it over. These included Slow Big Band, Ellie Greenwich and Society if needed., Society means Cole Porter, Irving Berlin Peters thing but this isnt a society crowd, said Barry Lazarowitz, the bands drummer and musical director. He mentions Duchin relatives but provides no real picture of what his relationship with them was like or how they felt about his being raised by friends of his mother. 2021 PETER DUCHIN, This story appears in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Town & Country. Read More, Duchin, Florence "Sue" (Nee Lillge) Age 86. He imbued the room with joy and shared fond memories with the elegant crowd, revealing that his most memorable party wasnt Capotes or even a night at the White Houseit happened right here in Chicago: I was asked to bring my 10-piece orchestra to the Palmer House by the hostess who shared no other details, Duchin recalled. She enjoyed music, knitting, crocheting, cooking and baking. It's just a phone book"), came from "the poor side" of the Oelrich family. The Harrimans became his family. Further details may exist on the, Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:46, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Discography of American Historical Recordings, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Duchin&oldid=1140747691, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:46. Peter Duchin, whose new memoir is out now, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in New York City in 1971. His later career was in the insurance industry Read More, Funeral Service 10 a.m. at David C. Brown Funeral Home, Belleville. Peter Oelrichs Duchin (born July 28, 1937) is an American pianist and band leader . World & Nation. TRAGIC BIRTH It's an irresistible story. At 59 he's no longer that dashing youth who had an affair in Spain with Ava Gardner, but he's still boyishly handsome. I much preferred to be wearing my beat-up waders to fish in a stream. P eter Duchin, the pianist and society bandleader, was headed home from a post-theater dinner in the fall of 2013 when the chest pains began. During his recovery period, his bed was moved into his downstairs study, his wife placing beloved Cecil Beaton photos of his parents right onto the bookcase for him to look at daily. His mother was Marjorie Oelrichs, a Newport, Rhode Island and New York City socialite who died unexpectedly when he was just five days old. Join our community book club. Born in Yonkers Read More, Duchin, Sally Pomeranz In loving memory of Sally Pomeranz Duchin, 88, of Tucson, AZ and Houston, TX, passed away on February 1, 2022. Obituaries. I dont know what she had against the City of Brotherly Love, but she called a really big terrible party a Philadelphia rat-fuck. Hilarity was the dominant note. Peter ended up being raised amid extraordinary wealth and privilege by his godparents, W. Averell and Marie Harriman. The story of [Peter] Duchins life has an elegiac aura of glamour and tragedy that might have come directly from the imagination of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr. Duchin is such a fixture in these circles theres an understanding that in any given ballroom he belongs more to the elite than do most guests, or even hosts. It was a capacity crowd of a few hundred, and perhaps two dozen couples got out of their chairs to dance the fox trot or a slow Lindy. Beloved wife of the late Samuel Lev and the late Martin Gates. Peter Duchin can tell us a thing or two. I don't give a s-- about who they are. The child, the couple's third, has been named Colin Z. He has bookings that go into 1980, and . Here is his story. The son of famed swing-era bandleader Eddy Duchin and the liberated Newport blueblood Marjorie Oelrichs, Peter Duchin has led an intriguing and glamorous life: fishing with Hemingway in Idaho, quail-shooting with Jock Whitney in Georgia, fooling around with Paris showgirls on his Right Bank barge, late-night partying with Sinatra and Astaire. Though Duchin is treated in public as a celebrity, he is far more complex than just that one identity. Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapel, Deerfield Beach. We are playing gigs almost every week, he explained. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Early life and education [ edit] Duchin was born in New York City, the son of pianist and band leader Eddy Duchin. didn't finish. Dear grandfather of 10 and great-grandfather Read More, Submit an obit for publication in any local newspaper and on Legacy. Over the years Mr. Duchin, as both pianist and bandleader, has provided the musical entertainment at an estimated 6,000 celebrations. Arrange-ments by BROWN FUNERAL HOME, PLATTSBURGH, NY Read More, Duchin, Esther Nov. 16, 2006, age 86 years. Reading Time: 3 minutes. By submitting your e-mail, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. In 2005 he wrote a story in the New York Times Magazine titled Playing for Keeps. He focused on me, which I appreciated, but I was really the stand-in for a bigger idea. He has played at over 5000 events around the world, from civil rights organizations to grand galas, his dazzling smile enticing thousands over the years to the dance floor. Forced to live in an oxygen tent for more than a year, baby Peter was taken to Arden, the vast New York estate of the couple who raised him in aristocratic style -- patrician statesman Averell Harriman and his wife Marie, Marjorie Duchin's best friend. At weddings in particular, you need to be able to do the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, the Beach Boys, or else wed only be hired by 90-year-olds, he said. Mr. Duchin was drinking scotch from a heavy cut-glass tumbler (his secretary, Betty Walsh, always carries one for him and one for Roberta Fabiano, his guitarist and singer), dipped cold cuts from a caterers tray into a plastic cup of mustard and had a look at a set-list printout. Place of Burial Private. Distraught by the death of his beautiful. An avid student, Sally graduated with a PhD in Allied Read More, Joel Bruce Duchin Highland Heights, KY - Joel Bruce Duchin, age 75, of Highland Heights Kentucky died Tuesday, January 19th at his home after a courageous battle with brain cancer. More than a memoir, Face the Music offers a window into the era of debutantes and white-tie balls, when such events made national headlines. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. By now, Peter Duchin's career has lasted longer than his father's. Eddy Duchin died of leukemia in 1951 at age 42. [2] Her paternal aunt was poet and playwright Michael Strange. There was no trust fund waiting for him, no inherited position at a Wall Street law firm or investment bank. People ate it up when Mr. Duchin paused between numbers to tell stories from his past. Local Obituaries Geraldine Orosco, 76 of Charlotte, North Carolina passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 17, 2023. Not a great book but an enjoyable and interesting read. It was a little bit interesting - about his early life - his mother died at his birth and his father was a mostly a mostly absent father meaning that he was brought up by Averill Harriman and his wife. Service Private. She is survived by her daughters, Faye Duchin of Stamford and Read More, Evelyn Duchin on April 2, 2009. Peter Duchin, the pianist and society bandleader, was headed home from a post-theater dinner in the fall of 2013 when the chest pains began. Her cheering section of friends and family were at her side along the course with her AngelsGrace colleagues. As he grows up, Peter becomes well acquainted with the rich and famous in America and Europe and eventually achieves musical success on his own. Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. She was singing Its High Time from the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Later, at the bar, Mr. Duchin was asked what he made of Ms. Smiths singing voice. She had a shop in New York and also posed for Lucky Strike.. He wanted to make a big effort to get close to me, but it never happened. But he wasnt raised by family. See the article in its original context from. Visitation 5-8 p.m. today and 12-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Thursday at BROWN FUNERAL HOME, Belleville. Society has changed -- it's no longer based on background or manners; it's based on money.". There have been peaks and valleys since. [3] He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean . [6][7] Marjorie was removed from the New York Social Register for marrying Duchin because Eddy was Jewish; her reaction was reportedly "Who cares? It's just a phone book. He is an actor, known for The Post (2017), Working Girl (1988) and Jade (1995). Imagine, if you were walking down the street, and you suddenly passed your mother and you didnt recognize her, and she didnt recognize you? Start reading while you listen to a rendition of Ill Take Manhattan.. As a wedding gift, her father gave them a Thoroughbred yearling named Mr. Much of the time the writing is bland, but sometimes a truly amusing and not always tasteful bit emerges; theres little to match the excruciating horror of the time Duchin stepped on and crushed a dates pet Yorkie. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Its All Relative: Filmmaker Michael Glover Smiths Winning New Movie Examines Chicago Family at Crossroads. I play with my right hand and our bass player duplicates the sound the left hand would make. The phrase "society bandleader" has a snooty ring to it. She asked me why I could possibly be interested. Pretty soon we were all smiling because they had hope.. Duchin, who has three grown children from his first marriage and is today married to writer Brooke Hayward -- her 1977 best-selling memoir, "Haywire," told the story of her famous family's disintegration -- grew up as an outsider despite living within the privileged world of the Harrimans and Vanderbilts. Though his uniform most nights is a tuxedo he keeps 15 of them in working order one evening near the end of the summer found him in a fishing jacket and Belgian casuals as he prepared to play a town concert in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Distraught by the death of his beautiful wife and the expected loss of his newborn son, Eddy Duchin abandoned the scene to lose himself in his music. Face the Music, out this month and co-written with Patricia Beard, is Duchins moving and deeply personal follow-up. Variations: Viewing All | Peter Duchin. I agree with Muschamp that music inspires memory and mood and, as he also wrote, evaporates into ambience. Im awfully glad he didnt use the word glamorous. When he returned, he wanted me to take piano lessons and to set up two pianos so we could play together. Colin is a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. George Zauderer of New York and the late Eddy Duchin, the pianist and or chestra leader, and the late Mrs. Marjorie Oelrichs Duchin. Freddye was a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. I guess it's difficult to live in one's father's shadow, but that's what Peter must do. That should have made it clear that something very bad was going on. But I wasnt tracking much, except for the sound of a machine that constantly emitted an extremely irritating beep-beep just off A-flat., Or, subscribe to AIR MAIL and receive full access today. Reposing at Colonial Funeral Home, 2819 Hylan Blvd., corner of Tysens Lane on Saturday and Read More, Area Death Notice Duchin, Daniel, 78, of Boca Raton, died Wednesday. We played all night just for the couple celebrating their 60th anniversary. It was in this period that I finally got to know them in a way. He took his band on the road for months at a time, and Peter, a near-orphan, was taken into the household of Averill Harriman by his wife, Marie, a close childhood friend of the boys late mother. Dear father of Paul Duchin, Neal (Chaya) Duchin, Steven (Paula) Duchin and the late Burt Alan Duchin. After both recoveries, I would throw balls around with the patients in wheelchairs and then when the doctors came in, we would all through the balls at them. "People expect you to live up to your father, and be better. It makes everybody look like theyre a good dancer. www.davidcbrownfh.com Read More, PLATTSBURGH - Harvey Eric Duchin, M.D., of Plattsburgh, N.Y., passed away July 19, 2007, after a long illness. That was a stroke of good fortune. Sports. Being a fan of big bands and of jazz, I really wanted to read Peter Duchin's biography. Tunney said they were alike in that both had famous fathers and grew up in homes of privilege, but that didnt define them. I think he had heard I was having too much fun in Paris, Duchin remembered. The colt became one of only four racehorses to win both the U.S. West Coast's Santa Anita Handicap and the East Coast's Woodward Stakes. Devoted mother of Michael, Jr. and Jason. The newborn Peter Duchin was fortunate in that a friend of his mother and father, Marie Harriman, the wife of Averell, took over the care and ultimately the upbringing of the baby boy. Its chock-full of name-dropping--but its more than a simple-minded celebrity bio. And we can forgive them because they pass the good times on to us. I always visualized her and always missed her, he shared. His mother, Marjorie Oelrichs Duchin, was described by newspapers at the time of her marriage as a New York and Newport socialite, though by marrying Eddy Duchin, a Jew and an entertainer, she was forced to relinquish her spot in the Social Register. His single "Star Dust" reached No. A nice, fluffy memoir with a straight-forward writing style. "It seemed so limiting," he says, "but now it's meaningless. Profile: He is an American pianist and band leader, born July 28, 1937 in New York City, New York. Each of them knows about 3,000 songs. January 13, 2022 "Face the Music" Peter Duchin With Patricia Beard Doubleday, $28 Few books open with an image of the author with his pants down in front of a crowd lining up to visit the. He had my return ticket to New York in hand. Im more jazz. The child, the couple's third, has been. I got this book on nook because it covered a period of time that is more of my parents who were born in the 20s. Still, he does wear one almost every night. She scandalized them by appearing in cigarette ads in the '20s. It was time to earn a living, she said. Theyre more Sinatra, Bobby Darin.. Theres a whiff of old-time romance here and a few scraps of meaty gossip (the juiciest about Pamela Harriman in her more mercenary days). Burial: Mount Lebanon Cemetery, Iselin. Devoted mother of Anita Wornick & her husband Ronald, Howard Lev & his wife Susan, Peter Lev, Read More, DUCHIN, DAVID MICHAEL, of Providence and Vero Beach, Florida, died on Tuesday, November 13, 2012. Click or call (800) 729-8809, Church & Chapel Funeral Home - Waukesha / Pewaukee, Bernheim Apter Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel - Ewing Township, DAVID C. BROWN FUNERAL HOME - Belleville, Philadelphia Inquirer/Philadelphia Daily News. Duchin's mother died in childbirth. By and large he has been plying an increasingly endangered trade. The Harrimans provided roofs over his head; a governess; a pony; lessons in riding, shooting, fishing and skiing; education at the best schools; and opportunities for travel and socializing with a brilliant array of thinkers, politicians, artists and society types. He used his time in recovery to encourage fellow patients undergoing physical therapy to make themselves happy no matter what. Everything required for the child's health and comfort was provided carefully and thoughtfully. Ronald was a resident of Mc Lean, Virginia. Really enjoyed it. Services at Read More, (Nee Nolte) Found peace April 17, 2006 at the age of 87. Mr. Duchin likes to chalk up his success to a combination of birthright and social profile, invoking not only his background but also that he bolstered his fame by playing small roles, mostly as bandleaders, in a number of movies (including Six Degrees of Separation and Working Girl) and writing mystery novels with a co-author, John Morgan Wilson. Cherished father of Sandra (John) Moe, Michael, and Deborah (Mark) Wilutis. "I wanted to explore the degree of that loneliness.". In 1947, Eddy Duchin remarried and young Peter moved in with him for the first time. She died peacefully on December 5, 2009 at the age of 100 in California, where she has lived for the past 12 years. When I moved to Asia, he came over to visit me, and he was the first to greet me back home. Perhaps its because he finds hes often being asked about himself that he prefers to steer the conversation away from himself and to hear other peoples stories about themselves.. There were others doing what I did, musicians with full bands who played for dances, but they were all at least 20 years older: Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Meyer Davis; another was Lester Lanin, though he didnt write music or play an instrument himself. Who cares? she said. Whether headlining Truman Capotes Black and White Ball or sharing the stage with the Supremes for a deb party at a Lake Forest country club, in the six decades that he has played the most exclusive dance floors in the world Peter Duchin has always lived up to his theme song, Make Someone Happy., Bandleader and epitome of elegance, Duchin did it again last Friday, an evening that began with a call from one of his favorite friends, Abra Prentice Wilkin (who regretted not being there but wished him good luck). Beloved wife of the late Philip. [4], Please expand the article to include this information. I like to let my musicians improvise a bit., Mr. Duchin likes modern music and is proud that his band was the first to perform rock n roll at the White House, when he was hired for the weddings of Lyndon Johnsons daughters.